I burst out laughing along with Kirishima and Sero as Bakugo walks into the classroom. His hair is flattened out, and I fail at trying to stop laughing as he shouts at the three of us.

"Stop laughing!"

Bakugo twitches with anger and glares at us.

"My hair's gotten used to it, so it won't go back even after I wash it! I said stop laughing! I'll kill you all!"

"I'd like to see you try, Pretty boy!"

Sero remarks as Bakugo growls loudly.

"What'd you say?!"

Bakugo clenches his fists as his hair suddenly spikes up. Sero points at his hair as I cover my mouth with my hand to stifle my laughter.

"It's back!"

Shouting, Bakugo grabs Sero and Kirishima by the collar of their shirts and threatens them. I stick my tongue out teasingly seeing as he doesn't have enough hands to attack me. He grumbles as I walk to my desk and a few more giggles escape me. Sitting down, I sigh and cross my arms.

Feels kinda nice to be back at U.A… But only a little, I still hate the majority of people here.

"Wow, you even got to fight villains? I'm so jealous!"

I overhear Mina talking with Jiro as Jiro lazily twists her ear lobe cord around her finger.

"I just helped people evacuate and did logistical support so I didn't do any actual fighting, though."

"It's still amazing!"

Tsuyu puts a finger to her chin and tilts her head.

"All I did was train and go on patrols, too. There was just one time when we caught smugglers from a neighboring country."

"That's crazy!"

Mina's jaw drops as Tsuyu turns to Ochaco.

"What about you, Ochaco? How was your week?"

Ochaco stares into space with a creepy expression and tone as she punches the air.

"It was very worthwhile…"

Mina suddenly walks over to my desk and beams at me.

"What about your internship, Ritsu?"

"It was alright. What about you?"

She sighs and frowns.

"It was hard! I was so tired! And I didn't even get to fight any villains! Did you?"

"Well..."

"But the ones who changed the most, or at least went through the most were you four right?"

Kaminari stares at me, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki as Sero and Kirishima wiggle their way from Bakugo's grasp.

"Oh, yeah! The hero killer!"

"I'm glad you guys made it out alive! Seriously."

Momo glances worriedly at us, with a delicate hand over her chest.

"I was worried."

"I heard Endeavor saved you guys, right?"

Kaminari interjects. Glaring at them, I tighten my grip as my arms remain crossed.

"Sure."

Todoroki gives me a cautious look, as if to convince me to keep my mouth shut. To say I'm still pissed about not getting credit for the whole hero killer thing would be the slightest bit of an understatement.

"It's amazing though! As expected from the number two hero!"

"Yeah."

Todoroki nods, a nonchalant expression on his face as he looks down at his desk.

"I saw on the news that the hero killer was connected to the League of Villains. Imagining someone that scary coming to U.S.J freaks me out."

What…? Did Stain meet with the League? Why didn't I know about it?

"He is scary, but did you see the video, Ojiro?"

Kaminari asks.

"Video? You mean of the hero killer?"

"Yeah. Seeing that, you can see how he's really single-minded and like, tenacious. Doesn't it almost make you think he's cool?"

I decide to speak up.

"In my opinion, he's just not doing it the right way. I agree with him that most of today's heroes are selfish, but he's doing it all wrong."

"K-kaminari! Oritsu!"

Midoriya stutters with an anxious face.

"Huh? Oh, sorry!"

Kaminari apologizes. I refuse to do the same as Iida checks the time.

"No, it's alright. It's true that he was tenacious. I understand how people could think he's cool. But he chose purging as a result of his beliefs. No matter what he thinks, that part is definitely wrong. In order to keep anyone else from turning out like me, I will once again walk on the path of becoming a hero!"

Iida announces with pride as Midoriya cheers him on.

"Now, it is time to commence class! Everyone, take your seats!"

"Alright, I am here! Anyway, we'll start now. Right. It's hero basic training! Long time no see, boys and girls! How've you been?"

I scoff under my breath as All Might places his fists on his hips.

I've been better, that's for damn sure.

"For this time's hero basic training, since you've all just gotten back from your internships, we'll have some fun with a rescue training race!"
Iida raises his hand high in the air.

"If we are doing rescue training, then shouldn't we do it at the U.S.J?"

"That place is training for disasters. Do you remember what I said? That's right, I said 'race'! This is field gamma! A dense area filled with factories laid out like an intricate labyrinth. You'll break up into four five-person groups and go through the training one group at a time. When I send out a distress signal from somewhere inside, you'll all start at once from the outskirts of the city! It's a race to see who will rescue me first! Of course, you'll have to keep damage to buildings to a minimum."

All Might points to Bakugo as I snicker and call out to him mockingly.

"Make sure to remember that, goldie locks!"

"Don't call me that, smart-ass!"

He glares at me as I smirk and All Might returns to his lecture.

"All right, the first group, get in place!"

A giant electronic screen flashes images of Ojiro, Midoriya, Iida, Sero, and Mina as it showcases those two teams currently in position. I sit cross-legged on the concrete ground next to Jiro with my hands holding my head up. Because my jacket for my hero costume got damaged during the hero killer fight, I can't wear it and it's currently being fixed and cleaned up by a support crew. My boots, on the other hand, only took half an hour to fix. Without the jacket though, I feel like some people are staring at my burn scar seeing as the only thing covering part of it up are the thick straps of the yellow crop top.

"Perhaps Midoriya is at a slight disadvantage."

Momo says, glancing at Jiro.

"That's true. Honestly, I'm still not sure how good he is. And whenever he does something, he always gets badly injured…"

Sitting up straight, I give my own opinion.

"He's probably just not used to the power of his quirk. It kinda makes sense if he used only a little bit his whole life, and he's getting injured because he's using it all at once now."

Momo nods.

"Who do you think'll win? I think Sero'll be first!"

Kirishima says to Kaminari.

"But Ojiro's there too."

"I think it'll be Ashido. She's really athletic!"

Mineta points out as Bakugo grumbles.

"Deku will be last!"

"Even if he's injured, I still think it'll be Iida."

I shrug, fully aware of what I saw Midoriya do in the hero killer battle.

"Well, we won't know until we find out. My money's on Midoriya."

They shouldn't underestimate him. I've seen what he can do now, and he'll certainly give Bakugo a run for his money. Hopefully...

Jiro nods as a sudden siren goes off, probably signaling the call for help coming from All Might. I watch on the screen as Sero and Mina jump right into action, with Sero using his tape to speed around, and Mina sliding on the metal pipes with her acid. Ojiro bounces into the air using his tail, and Iida runs with light smoke trailing his lower legs.

"In a place all jumbled like this, It's standard practice to go up!"

Kirishima exclaims as Shoji comments as well.

"Which means, Sero's got an advantage since he's good in the air, huh?"

Everyone gasps as they watch Midoriya rocket off the pipes with ease, a green static twitching off of him, similar to Kaminari's electricity.

"Wow, Midoriya?!"

"What's with those moves?"

I glance over at Bakugo, hoping to see his angered reaction, but instead, I see him gritting his teeth with a cutting glare at the screen.

He's overreacting...Does he hate Midoriya that much?

We all watch with anticipation as Midoriya jumps and the others struggle to follow until his foot slips on a pipe and he falls. Sighing, Sero reaches All Might first and is gifted a sash with "thank you" written on it.

It's still better than nothing...

Sero smiles proudly as Iida tries to console Midoriya. Mina whines and Ojiro sighs in disappointment.

"Young Sero came in first, but compared to the beginning of the year, you've all gotten a lot better at using your quirks. Keep going like this and start preparing for your final exam! Group one can leave the field. Next group, get ready!"

I stand on a starting platform as I get prepared to jump. As luck would have it, a certain hothead happened to be in the same group as me, along with Hagakure and Kirishima. I wait patiently for the siren to signal the start of the race.

Kirishima and Hagakure are at clear disadvantages. They don't have much of a choice but to run on the ground, and on the other hand, Bakugo can launch himself anywhere he wants. If I want even a chance to get ahead, I should avoid flying. It'll take too long to take off, and once I lose momentum, it's all over. I guess that little snippet of common sense would've helped me out in the sports festival...Anyway, I should resort to jumping as far as possible, which means the best animal I can use is a kangaroo. They can jump up to a distance of nine meters or thirty feet and a height of three meters at best, meaning I can get pretty far ahead before Bakugo catches up to me.

Quickly, my legs morph into the strong hind legs of a kangaroo. The short fur tingles as the siren suddenly goes off. Much to Bakugo's surprise, I launch myself far into the air as the wind blows in my face haphazardly. Landing on a thick pole, I launch myself again, shooting through the air like a dart. I hear Bakugo curse from behind me as the sound of explosions gets closer. Now slightly worried, I start getting quicker as the noises slowly fall behind me. I smirk, now confident that I'll reach All Might first. With one last powerful jump, I skid to a halt on the concrete floor, almost surprising All Might. He grins as he hands me the same sash he gave Sero.

"Well done, young Oritsu! I can see you've improved with your strategy!"

I nod a little, holding the sash in my hand as my legs morph back to normal, and we start heading back to the rest of the class.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Uncomfortable, I stare at my regular uniform in my hands as the other girls in 1-A change. In the girl's locker room, I try not to make eye contact with anyone as I stand still, topless, and in the middle of changing out of my hero costume. Mina looks in my direction.

"Hey Ritsu, you feeling alright?"

I hide my stutter a bit, trying to hide a pink tint on my cheeks.

"I'm fine, I'm just still not used to this..."

"It's alright! We're all girls here anyway!"

I nod as I nervously pull on the uniform skirt over my hips as I reach for my black shorts in the locker. Suddenly, we all hear the voice of an anxious Mineta on the other side of the wall.

"-Yaoyorozu's ample chest! Ashido's slender waist! Hagakure's floating underwear! Uraraka's curvy body! Oritsu's plump thighs! Asui's unexpected bo-"

Jiro's earphone shoots through the hole in the wall, cutting Mineta off. I stare at the hole, disgusted by Mineta's words as he shouts in pain.

"Thanks, Jiro."

Mina says grimly.

"How despicable. Let us close this up right away!"

Momo walks over to the hole and starts filling it with cement from her finger as I scoff and put on my button-up.

"What a scumbag."

The girls nod in agreement as I pull my black tights over my legs and put on the grey uniform jacket, not bothering to button it or put on the tie. Grabbing my school bag, I swing it over my shoulder and walk out of the locker room, a glare plastered on my face. The rest of the day would fly by uneventfully, and afterward, when I got home, I made plans to ask Momo to help me study. I know ninth place for the midterms isn't bad, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

"Alright, that's it for class. There's only one week left until the final exams. You all are studying properly, right? I'm sure you already know, but it won't just be a written exam. There's also a practical component. Make sure you train your minds and bodies at the same time. That's all."

Aizawa says as he leaves the classroom. As soon as the door closes, Kaminari and Mina freak out.

"I haven't studied at all!"

They say in unison.

"With the sports festival and internship, I didn't get any time to study!"

Kaminari whines as Tokoyami crosses his arms.

"It's true we had one event after another, but still."

"For the midterms, we'd just started school so they didn't cover much, so I didn't really have a hard time with them. But with the back-to-back events and stuff, the finals will be different..."

Sato contemplates as Mineta leans against his chair proudly, a smug grin on his face.

"It'll be tough since there's a practical exam, too."

"What?! Tenth on the midterms?! And here I thought you were one of us!"

Mina angrily points and shouts at Mineta.

"Guys like you are only likable if they're dumb...! Where's the demand for this?!"

"The world, I guess."

I sit on my desk lazily, almost crisscrossing my legs as my hands hold my head up and I glare at Mineta.

"Bullshit."

"Ashido, Kaminari! L-let's do our best!"

Midoriya grins at the two.

"We all want to go to the training camp together, right?"

"Eh, I could live without Bakugo."

I comment as Bakugo grumbles. Iida raises his hand.

"Yes! As class rep, I also have high hopes that you'll all be moved to action!"

"It's hard to fail if you just pay attention in class."

Todoroki's brutally honest words hit Kaminari harshly. Momo smiles kindly with a hand over her chest.

"You two, I may be able to be of assistance with the class lectures."

Mina and Kaminari cheer as she suddenly sulks back to her desk.

"I can't help at all with the practical, though..."

"That's not true, Momo. You're pretty good with your quirk."

I feel slightly surprised at the words that left my mouth as Momo turns around and looks at me, a hopeful glint in her eyes.

"You think so?"

I nod, deciding to just go along with it.

"I'm not one of those two, but can I join too? I'm having some trouble with quadratic functions..."

Jiro says shyly, a notebook in hand as Momo looks up at her brightly. Sero walks over to her as well.

"Sorry, me too! How are you with classical Japanese?"

Ojiro nervously raises his hand.

"I'd like to join too. There's a bunch of stuff I don't get..."

I tap her shoulder.

"I wouldn't mind some help as well. I'd rather be prepared than otherwise when the time comes."

Momo's cheeks turn a subtle pink as her eyes glimmer.

"Everyone..."

She suddenly stands up, excited, and happy.

"Yes, of course!"

"All right!"

The other three cheer as I grin a little and Momo clasps her hands together over her chest.

"Then, let us hold a study session at my residence this weekend!"

Mina joins in.

"Seriously? I can't wait to see your house!"

"Oh, in that case, I must tell mother and have her open up the hall!"

Hall...?

"What kind of tea are you all partial to?"

Wait what?

"In my family, we always drink Harrod's or Wedgewood, so if you have any preference, let me know! Of course, you can trust me to help you study, too! I will definitely show you how I can help!"

I feel like she just casually showed off her wealth, but the way she seemed so excited about helping us is adorable...

"What was that again? Harry's? That's fine."

Kaminari says as he sounds like he's in some sort of trance.

"Harrod's, right!"

Lunch seems to pass right on by, with nothing worthwhile happening. At least to me because Todoroki said someone from class 1-B named Monoma came by the table he was sitting at. When we returned to class, I sort of tuned out everyone for a little while. Until Bakugo decided to stir up a fuss.

"It doesn't matter if they're people or robots. They're the same thing if you beat 'em up. What're you idiots talking about it being easy for?"

Kaminari pouts and points at Bakugo.

"Who're you calling an idiot?!"

"Shut up! If you need to control your quirk, then control it, dumbass!"

Bakugo turns to Midoriya, glaring at him with his fiery red eyes.

"Hey, Deku!"

A moment of silence passes as Bakugo glares at him with clenched teeth.

"I don't know if you've figured out how to use your quirk a little or what, but you seriously keep rubbing me the wrong way."

I stare at the two, a little confused at why Bakugo thought now was a good time to get mad at Midoriya.

"I don't need another half-assed result like at the sports festival. At the finals, we'll get individual scores so we'll see who's better whether you like it or not. I'll beat you with an indisputable difference! I'll kill you! You too, Icyhot!"

I saunter up to Bakugo and place my elbow on his shoulder, leaning on him with a hand on my hip.

"Relax, hot head. We get it, you're whining because you hate everything, it's not a big deal."

He growls loudly as his hands twitch and smoke sizzles. I glare back at him with a subtle teasing smirk.

"Tch. Shut up."

He pushes my arm off of him and angrily walks out of the classroom. Kirishima nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"It's been a while since I've seen Bakugo that intense."

I shrug.

"He just needs to calm down a bit."

Walking back to my desk, I lazily grab my bag and walk out of the classroom with Mina.

In a simple get-up consisting of a plain hoodie, black leggings, dull purple sneakers, my hair in its normal ponytail, and my book bag over my shoulder, I Stare in awe at Momo's house. Or to be more accurate, the tall and fancy iron gate that stands before me, Kaminari, Sero, Orjiro, Mina, and Jiro.

"I knew she was rich, but I didn't think she was this rich..."

Kaminari mutters as Jiro presses a button on a speaker next to the gate. It suddenly buzzes, and Momo's voice comes through the speaker.

"Everyone, I have been waiting for you! Please, come in."

The gates click and slowly open.

Sitting at a huge and long reddish-brown table, I sit in the middle of an elegant dining room with a golden chandelier hanging above, velvet curtains lining the windows, and a marble fireplace behind the table. I feel intimidated as I glance at my school notebook and pencil in front of me. It appears as though everyone else feels intimidated as well. Mina and Ojiro sit to my right, and Sero, Kaminari, and Jiro sit across from me.

"I feel so out of place, it's making me nervous."
Ojiro mutters nervously. Sero nods in agreement as he looks around.

"Me too..."

I keep my jaw from dropping as Momo enters the dining room pushing a beautifully carved wooden cart with intricate and gorgeous teacups and pot along with a tray of delicate sweets. She tilts her head and smiles.

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing..."

The others say at the same time as I try not to smile.

Momo's bounciness...Is cute...

She pushes the cart over to us and starts handing us teacups and saucers as I stare at them. I feel like I'm too poor to even touch the darn things as she smiles and pulls out a notebook from underneath the cart.

"Now, shall we get started?"

We nod, and I prepare myself to cram as much as I can into my head before this is over.

God, I hope this'll be worth it.

The day of the final exams finally arrived, and I felt more than ready thanks to Momo. During the written exams, I felt confident and relaxed as I carefully sped through it, making sure to double-check each one just in case. Although something was nagging in the back of my mind during the whole thing.

You have to meet up with the League...If you don't do it soon, who knows how upset Shigiraki will be. And I don't want to be at the business end of his decay quirk...

I managed to ignore this and focus on the written exams for the most part. On day three, it was all over.

"Pencils down, everybody. The last person in each row, collect the answer sheets, and bring them here."

With my sheet in hand, I stand up and start moving down my row, starting with Momo. With Momo, Mineta, and Midoriya's sheets in hand, I glare at Bakugo with an almost blank face as he begrudgingly hands his over. Handing them all the Aizawa, I walk back to my desk and sit down. My only thought was the whirlwind of hell that would eventually be the practical exam.